VALUE OF GRAZING MANAGEMENT ON THE CARIBOU 



NATIONAL FOREST 



BY C. H. SHATTUCK 



Professor of Forestry, University of Caiifornia 



lARIBOU National Forest has developed the was good and tliere was no strife and contention 



management of its grazing lands probably to a among them over the grass and water. But a large 



^^ higher degree than any other forest in Idaho, number of them had come to regard grazing as a badly 



It has been the writer's privilege to spend parts overdone business which had seen its best days and 



of two summers in an intensix'e study of the range and was rapidly on the decline. 'J"he Dei)artment of Graz- 



the methods em- 

 ployed by the offi- 

 cers in charge of 

 this work, and to 

 note carefully the 

 present conditions 

 as well as to makr 

 many comparison^ 

 of the present 

 methods, and the 

 results obtained b} 

 these managemeni 

 operations with 

 former conditions 

 and methods. 



Ten years ago 

 many parts of the 

 range in Idaho 



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C.\TTLE GRAZIXU 0.\ THE CARIBOU NATIONAL FOREST 



Forage of this region has greatly improved during the past six years owing to proper handling 



of the stock and the range. 



ing of the United 

 States Forest Ser- 

 vice began some 

 nine years ago to 

 work out a system 

 of grazing man- 

 agement with the 

 general object of 

 improving the 

 conditions of the 

 range and the 

 range business. 

 How was this to 

 be accomplished? 

 The problem was 

 of vast magnitude, 

 and was involved 

 and complex. To 



were badly overgrazed. This resulted in the increase begin with, the stockmen themselves had few sugges- 



of the non-palatable plants, the decrease of the val- tions as to how the range could be improved. In fact, 



uable forage plants, especially the better grasses, the most of them said it could never be done. A careful 



destruction of the young trees, and often in severe analysis of the situation revealed the fact that very 



erosion. All of these results were bad for the range little definite information was at hand with which to 



and therefore for the men devoting themselves to the undertake the solution of such a tremendous but 



highly important industries of stock raising and wool highly important problem. 



growing. The general attitude of these men toward Five general objects were deemed highly desir- 



the future of these industries was extremely pessimis- able and therefore most valuable to be secured. 



tic. They were 

 discouraged. They 

 ielt that there was 

 far too much stock 

 on the range for 

 the good of either, 

 and that the en- 

 croachmentsof the 

 settler and new 

 stockmen wouM 

 soon ruin whai 

 had been a great 

 and profitable in 

 dustry. Many n- 

 the older men 

 would talk of the 

 good o 1 d days 

 when the range 



536 



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These are to be 



f(jund on the higher alpine meadows of the grazing range, Caribou National 

 Forest. 



Greater p r o - 

 duction in the 

 amount of forage 

 plants. 



Imp rovement 

 in the class of for- 

 age phiiits. 



Closer utiliza- 

 tion of much of 

 the range lands 

 l)oth as to forage 

 and w-ater. 



Improvements 

 in the methods of 

 liandling stock. 



A better sys- 

 tem of protection 

 of young forest 



